Animal advocates are applauding Ohio’s decision to postpone a proposed trapping season for bobcats. The state Wildlife Council voted 6-1 last week to put the proposal on an indefinite hold.
Corey Roscoe with the U.S. Humane Society welcomed the move, saying the science does not back up harvesting bobcats.
“Bobcats were only removed from Ohio’s endangered and threatened species list less than four years ago, so this proposal seems premature given that the full population study of bobcats has not been concluded yet,” Roscoe says.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said that bobcats, which were in the late 1800s nearly driven to the edge of extinction in the state, have bounced back in recent years. In 2017, Ohio recorded 499 verified bobcat sightings.
Roscoe also says public comments and emails to the state show Ohioans are overwhelmingly opposed to the trapping season. ODNR proposed opening trapping season in southern and eastern Ohio from November 10-January 31, and requiring hunters to submit the carcass to the Division of Wildlife.
ODNR did not return a request for comment.
